Another - A Friendstory Short
by Tatsumari
Summary: An alternate universe look at what happens on this side of the doorway if the events of Friendstory ended with the sealing of the doorway between Mapleworld and our World, as well as everyone forgetting... except for two people. (ties in with Maplestory, The Novel)


The five A.M. alarm blared in Max's ear, at first pulling him out of his dream, then jolting him out of sleep as he bolted upright. Smacking the snooze button, he pulled his knee up and pinched the bridge of his nose. The previous night, he had forgotten to turn off his alarm for the weekend. But he was glad he had forgotten it; he'd been having the dreams again over the last couple of weeks. They were intermittent but intense. Maybe it was because his doctor decided to see if taking him off his medications would be a viable choice. But now that they were back, he'd have to go and get his prescription once again. Leaning down to his knee, Max's hand softly landed on his wife's hip, stirring her slumber.

"Did you forget to turn off your alarm?" She asked groggily.

"Yeah, sorry about that, babe," Max muttered, laying back down as Cygnus rolled over and lay on his chest.

"It's alright. It's the weekend; we can sleep in," she answered, promptly falling back asleep. Max stayed awake for a while longer, trying to remember the dream he'd had. It felt like someone was chasing him. Someone dangerous from his past. Max looked over his nose to his dresser and stared at the first drawer. Once he had gotten a few more hours of sleep, he'd check the case that kept his pistol. It'd been a month since its last cleaning. But he hadn't fired it either, so It probably didn't need to be cleaned. All the same, he'd check it later. After another four hours, they decided to get up and see what the day had to offer them. It was an overcast day making both of them feel lazy and slow, but it was the weekend. Monday would come all too soon. As Cygnus went to the kitchen to make herself some coffee, Max happened to notice a tabloid sitting on the coffee table.

"I thought you said that these things were all just hype and false stories?" he called.

"What was?"

"The tabloids. But you've got one here."

"Oh, yeah, those things are. But that one caught my eye because of the story in it." She called. Max picked it up, looking over the prominent, bold lettering declaring 'aliens visiting from another planet?!' in the background was a picture of a bright beam of light burrowing into the ground of what looked like a football field. Turning to the article, the same image took up half a page, while a couple blurrier photos were fit into the lettering of the piece.

Max chuckled as he began to read. It claimed that two years ago in Huron, Ohio, a beam of light shot down from a funnel cloud and left a sizable crater in the high school's football field. The article went further to quote 'witnesses' of the event who said that this phenomenon actually happened twice and that a person ran from the light into the woods the first time. Max squinted his eyes: he had seen these tabloids claim some fantastical things, but this was almost too weird. The article directed him to the first of the photos, which was explained to be a freeze-frame of a camera phone video. The picture showed what appeared to be a man with white hair, medieval-like clothing, and a tremendous weapon in his hand that seemed to be some sort of ax. Reading further into the article, he was directed to the second picture, which was much clearer depicting a group of people standing in the crater.

Max shook his head and smirked until he looked closer at the picture. One of the people within the group appeared very familiar to him. Upon looking closer, two others seemed eerily familiar to him. Grabbing a nearby magnifying glass, he looked at the second photo again, focusing on one of the people dressed in black with a red sash around his waist. He then looked at two of the women in the photo: one of them appeared to be muscular, yet voluptuous with a cascade of almost copper-red hair. The other was a fit, sandy blond hair woman holding up a stylized bow above her.

"_No, it couldn't be…_" he thought until he was startled by Cygnus, bringing him a cup of coffee.

"Oh, thanks. Is this what you were talking about?" Max asked, holding up the article for her to see.

"Yes, that's the one. It reminded me of my High School days when I used to dream about being in some other world." Max took a sip of his coffee and swallowed hard, singeing his throat in the process.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. Didn't you say that you used to dream you were a princess or something?"

"It was an Empress, but yes. The funny thing was, it was almost like I was living another life there. Now I wonder what the rest of my friends are doing. I saw on Facebook that Michael is doing pretty well as the school's Kendo teacher. I haven't been able to find anything on anyone else, though." Max chuckled. He remembered his days in the high school back in Seol, and how it was tricky adjusting to so much homework and classes. But there was also all the 'mischief' as the principal called it, that he would get up to while in the school. It earned him the nickname of Detention Master. Once they had graduated, he and Cygnus married and moved to New York for his job.

"I actually found Irene the other day. I'll have to see if she's still on my suggested friends' list."

"Really? Does she still look the same?"

"Yeah, actually. From the picture that I saw, it looks like she has a couple kids now too."

"Aw, that nice. I knew she'd be a pretty good mom." After finishing the coffee, Max left for the hardware store. Their front door squeaked every time it opened and they didn't have any oil to silence the hinges. As he drove to and from the store, the story in the tabloid continued to haunt him. The people in that second photo couldn't be who he thought they were, could they?

"_The last time I saw them, they were all still in their respective cities. What would they be doing here?"_ He could pass it off if they just happened to be similar people. He had seen a few people here in New York that could easily be mistaken for his master's first mate. But coupled with the strange light and the appearance of that white-haired man, he couldn't wholly justify it. As he neared his house, he noticed a clean, older Mercedes parked in front of his house.

"_That's weird, I don't remember anyone saying they were coming over today._" He thought, quickly going through the garage into the house. Inside, he could hear Cygnus talking to a man in the living room.

"Oh! That was quick. Anyway, look who it is! It's Mr. White from high school!" Cygnus called, waving Max over from the hall. Max's breath hitched, and his legs felt heavy as memories came flooding back to him: the dust creatures, the possessions, the transformations.

"_No, it can't be_." He thought, trying to swallow despite his dry mouth, gathering his composure and walking to the living room where he saw a middle-aged man with shoulder-length white hair.

"Ah, Maximilian, how are you doing? I was in the area for work and thought I'd look you up. You were, of course, one of my more memorable students." He said, standing from the recliner and extending his hand. Max returned the shake, squeezing a bit harder than usual before sitting down next to Cygnus on the couch, putting his arm around her.

"Wow, you've developed quite the grip from the young man I remember." Mr. White said, with a surprised smile as he sat back down. Max chuckled and smiled back, about to pull his arm closer around Cygnus when she threw up her arm.

"Oh, where are my manors. Would you like anything to drink? We have coffee, some fruit juice, water…"

"Just coffee with a bit of creamer will be fine." Max shook his head as Cygnus silently asked him if he would like a drink before walking back to the kitchen. Max leveled a cold stare at Mr. White, narrowing his eyes. His last words still clung to his mind as fresh as the day he spoke them:

"_A locked door does not open by itself. Your friend opened the door, but someone had to unlock it for him."_ Mr. White grinned and chuckled as he stared back at Max with the same unfazed stare as five years ago.

"You're a hard man to find Maximilian. You'd think with all the technology we have these days, it'd be a simple matter. I told you we'd meet again."

"I've done what I can to make sure that it stays that way. What are you doing here?"

"The same thing as you; living out my life."

"No, I mean what are you doing _here_. I know about your connection to the Black Mage. Cygnus and the Empress have no powers shared between them. You know that already." Max sneered, leaning forward in his seat and clenching his fists.

"Oh, don't fret. I have no interest in your wife. Congratulations, by the way. My interests lay elsewhere."

"Where exactly?" Maxed asked until Cygnus came back into the room carrying a cup of coffee and a glass of water for herself.

"Sorry, that took a while. I had to heat up some more water. Now, what were you saying about some hospital work you're doing?" She asked. Max maneuvered to make sure that he sat on the couch closest to Mr. White, keeping Cygnus as far away from him as possible.

"Ah, yes. My company runs the Maple Leaf Foundation, and we specialize in helping families who require assistance in paying hospital bills. I was coming to visit the family of a young girl we are helping by the name of Rhine." Max's pulse quickened as his body stiffened.

"She recently went through major surgery on her heart. She is still rather weak, but the doctors say that its only a matter of time until she heals."

"What was wrong with her? Are you allowed to say?"

"I would tell you, but due to my company's policy, I would be remiss to divulge that information. However, I can say that she is doing well." Mr. White assured.

"Well, that's good." Max feigned his interest as best he could, inwardly seething. When at last Mr. White announced that he had to be leaving, Max said that he would walk him to his car. Once the door was closed and he was sure they were far enough away from the door, he asked more questions.

"You don't think this girl is this world's version of the Goddess, do you?"

"I don't think, Maximilian, I know. Her heart condition was a result of her body trying to assimilate a foreign power. You should know better than anyone; people in this world aren't built to handle power like you are. They are all so fragile. My Master will be pleased with this gift." Mr. White smiled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his keys as they neared his car. Max looked around to make sure no one was watching before grabbing his shoulder and slamming him to the hood of his car.

"You touch one hair on that girl's head, and I will shoot you myself, you bastard!"

"Still as short-tempered as ever I see. I wonder how the family would fair if something came up making it untenable to support her hospital care? My Master has provided me billions for this girl's welfare, and I intend to use every last cent of it to ensure she grows up to be a healthy adult. But she doesn't belong here, just as you don't belong." Max picked him up off the hood, gripping the lapels of his jacket and pushing him against his car door.

"People of this world shouldn't have to be exposed to my world. There are enough problems here as it is. Adding magic to this world will only complicate things. Besides, the doorway you unlocked has been sealed and locked once more." Mr. White reached into his jacket, pulling out another tabloid depicting a young man with a black and white Rubix cube floating in his palm.

"It's too late for that, Maximilian. This young man, calling himself Kenesis, was touched by your world's power, and it has forever changed him, just as Rhine has. Even if you sealed the door immediately after it was opened, these changes would still have happened." A pressure shoved Max away from Mr. White, allowing him to straighten his jacket.

"There is still a bit of time before everything comes to fruition. I sought you out to see If you were a threat. While you still have that annoying fire bred into you by your Captain Kyrin…" White smirked, holding up the tabloid from the coffee table and showing him the picture Max and examined earlier.

"…You've lost most, if not all, your teeth. I'll be keeping an eye on you, Maximilian. And tell your wife, goodbye again for me." Mr. White smiled, handing the tabloid back to him, getting into his car and driving away, leaving Max seething on the sidewalk. The Black Mage had already tried to steal the Goddess's power, and now he was trying to use a girl from this world as well. Max was only vaguely aware of what Cygnus said as he came back into the house, making sure to at least tell her what Mr. White had requested of him before going to his room and digging through the dresser drawer. Inside was the pistol he had brought with him to this world, covered by a disguising spell he had procured before the doorway had been sealed. With a wave of his hand, a blue mist seeped from his palm, undoing the illusion.

As the illusion melted away, the gun became a massive, top-break revolver. The cylinder was covered by a finely crafted brass dragon's head, it's ruby eyes glowing with otherworldly power. Under a false bottom of the drawer was a cloth bag and a black leather hat.

"_Lost my teeth, huh? Well, it's time I got those teeth back!"_


End file.
